The Graveyard Shift
by spottedleopard79
Summary: There is a thin line left between the living and the dead. With the death of his parents, a young Duskull learns of a danger that no one else seems to accept. When his master is taken, Echo must find a team that is willing to put their lives on the line to save the spirits that many have forgotten.
1. Prologue

"Come, child. It's time to go"

 _I don't want to go..._

"It is no longer safe here. You need to come with me."

 _But the Shrine...it's collapsing. My parents are still in there!_

"Echo." It came out as a sigh, "You are smart for your age. I need you to listen. Some things we don't have to power to stop. We can only move on and try to keep something similar from happening."

 _I have to try. I can't leave them there! You just don't care! You're just like all the others! Pretending to care to look good! If you really cared you'd help me save them!_

"Child. Come." There was anger now. A forcefulness in the voice.

 _I can't... I don't know how to live without them. If they die... I should die with them..._

"I knew your parents once," The voice continued, "When we were young, they were my friends. I promise to take care of you, for that is what they would have wanted."

 _I don't want you to take care of me! I want my parents!_

"Perhaps if I explain you will be more willing to listen to reason. You see, many fear your kind, child. You are seen as the harbingers of death. Humans fear their impending deaths. They do all they can to postpone it. You are lucky to be alive now, child. They would not hesitate to kill you as well, if they thought it meant keeping themselves alive longer."

 _We were never going to hurt them... We just wanted to live here in peace._

"Do you understand now? You cannot stay here and your parents can't be saved, but maybe someday you can stop this from happening again. If you really want to help, then work hard. Make something of yourself."

 _...fine. Ok...I'll go... But my parents...I want to make them proud. I'll do anything to make them proud..._

"You are going to need to learn to forgive these humans. If not for them, then for yourself."

 _No, I will not forgive them for this. They do not deserve it. And...even if somehow I do forgive them... If I ever find another human that is going to do this I will not hesitate to kill them..._

The other laughed, "I would expect no less."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ok, so this is a Rewrite of this story cause I wanted to do something else with it. I'm pretty slow updater, but I will try to get chapters up as fast as I can.

If you like and want to see more, Review!


	2. Chapter 1

_**June 5, 1723**_

His paws were killing him. Every step felt like he was walking on broken glass. He had to keep moving, though, he couldn't stop. Not now, maybe not ever. The dead weight on his back wasn't helping any, either. The extra weight caused his paws to sink into the lush sand by the creek bed. He quickly dug his claws in, desperate for some sort of purchase. If he fell now, there was no way he would be able to get up again.

He pushed forward, dragging the unconscious human with him. The human did not fit very well and hung half way off his back, his feet dragging in the sand. Looking behind them, he cursed. They were leaving tracks behind. Still, he could not afford to stop and fix that. He would just have to keep going and hope that their followers wouldn't notice.

It was wishful thinking, he knew. The chances of not getting caught were slim to none. The ones pursuing them were persistent. They would not give up until they captured their prey. He couldn't give up now, though. His friend was counting on him. If he could just make it past this creek, then maybe they would have a chance.

Past the creek was a rocky outcrop. Hundreds of caves littered the place, each with its own unique, maze like twists and turns. If he could just make it there in time he could hide them in one of those caves until their followers passed.

Every inch of his body ached. Each step felt like it would be his last. His muscles screamed at him to stop, to just give up. Blood, both his own and his friends, matted his fur. They had beaten him. Whipped him like he was some sort of monster. His backside screamed from the lashes and he was pretty sure his jaw was broken. He had to push forward despite this, bare his teeth and take it, the injuries being the least of his problems, especially if they got caught.

Suddenly, his paws slid out from under him. He tumbled to the side, his head cracking painfully in the rocky water. He hissed out in pain, his muscles screaming out from the abuse they have gone through. Pushing his paws up under himself he tried to get back up, but his body refused to cooperate. He managed to get back to his paws only to crash back down into the water as his legs gave out from exhaustion.

He cursed out loud, both at his pursuers and at his own weakness. He felt the dead weight leave his back as his human fell from his back, splashing loudly in the water. Blinking water from his eyes, he tilted his head to glance the way they had come. As if it had been waiting for the right moment to show itself, a Grovile appeared at the water's edge, watching him with cold, uncaring eyes.

"Did you really think you'd be able to get away?" It had an amused gleam in its eyes. It walked calmly over to him, its lips pulling up into a smirk, "Although, you did make it farther than I predicted."

"Fuck you," He spat back.

The grass type laughed. It thought this was funny, just some sort of game. He couldn't let it get to him. This Grovile would never be by itself, it never went anywhere alone. Where ever it was, its trainer was sure to be close by. In all the time he has known them he has never seen them apart. The human had be nearby.

As if hearing his thoughts, a human hand brushed threw his fur. He quickly spun, snapping his teeth at the offending hand. The human didn't seem fazed, just moving its hand away and smiling a cruel smile. They turned from him, moving to where his own human lay in the water.

"Get away from him!" He yelled, forcing his weak legs to move. Trying desperately to do something to stop them.

The Grovile's human crouched down by his own, poking him like he was some sort of specimen. Then, suddenly, his human (Owner, trainer, _friend)_ opened his eyes. He squirmed under the others touch, smacking the offending hand away like it had some disease.

What happened next, he wished he could forget. It happened so fast he never saw it coming. There was no way he could have stopped it, no matter how much he wished he could have. He thought of that one moment thousands of times, over and over again, yet he can never think of a way he could have done anything. He never saw the gun as it was placed against his friends head. He's pretty sure he never even heard the gun go off. All he remembers was his own echoing scream as the water ran red.

He distinctly remembers trying to maul them, to _kill them all_. How he planned to do that, he didn't know. He did know that when the gun is suddenly turned on him that he wasn't scared. He didn't even fight back. He knew he did not want to be here without his only friend. And, so, he just closed his eyes and waited. He decided to finally let them win.

He never even felt the bullet that took away his life.

* * *

 _ **Present**_

Echo's master had taught him many things. When they first met, Echo had been a scared, uncooperative child. He argued with everything, from making his bed to learning a new skill. It didn't take long for his master's patience to wear thin. Looking back, he figures he is lucky he wasn't kicked out.

As time went on he finally began to listen. Turned out his master was pretty smart. He knew all sorts of different places and cultures. He would tell him stories of his travels, of all the different Pokémon he met. Echo had loved those stories and he soon wanted to travel too. Master had been thrilled to know he wanted to follow in his footsteps and tried to teach him everything he knew.

How to deal with females was not one of those things.

"I'm just passing through," The Duskull sighed, "I won't dawdle, I promise."

"You told me that already and I already said no trespassers allowed! Now scram!" The Beldum argued. She stood facing him, her single eye narrowed. How had this happened? This was supposed to be the easy part of his job. Echo's master had left him at their base with nothing more than a letter. The note didn't even say where he had gone or why, just explained a potential job in a nearby Pokè town. Getting to the location was generally not supposed to be a difficult thing to do. This female obviously wanted to challenge that.

"You know," He started cautiously, "there is more than one way to enter this forest. You can't possibly guard them all."

"Who says I'm the only one here?" She countered.

"Well, you did...earlier during your rant you said, and I quote, 'this is my forest and no one else will ever be here but me'."

He swore she was gonna explode with the way she fumed. She stuttered a couple of times, trying to get some sort of comeback out, but in the end just opted to glare at him. Feeling rather gleeful for this small victory, he went to float around her. He didn't make it very far before she was in front of him once again. Her eyes no longer held anger, instead she had a smug look about her.

 _Oh great, what's she got planned now?_

Suddenly something hard connected with his head. He yelped, tumbling ungracefully to the ground. He could hear her laughing at him, and not those sweet little giggles girls usually have. No, hers was a loud and obnoxious one.

"Alright, do you have any manners at all?" He snapped, uncharacteristically losing his calm as he forced himself back up off the ground.

Her laughter cut off abruptly, "Maybe if you listened like a good Pokémon I wouldn't have to be so rude."

He did not want to deal with his. Hell, he didn't have time to deal with this. He put a hand to his face and let out a deep sigh. Judging by the location of the sun it would be night soon. If he waited it out, he could sneak around this irate female when night came. Sneaking around in the dark was a ghost type specialty, after all.

"Fine, you know what? I'll leave, I don't have time for this crap." He relented, turning his back to her.

"Good riddance!" She called after him, watching him go.

Even as the feeling of victory washed over her, she swore she could feel eyes on her from the trees.


	3. Chapter 2

Zen maneuvered her way silently through her small forest home. The Beldum wasn't much of a social Pokémon, preferring to be left alone to anything else. Not that she didn't like others, it just took her some time to deal with them being around. It made her come off a little standoffish. She rolled her eye at the thought, it wasn't her fault others were so sensitive. Maybe if they grew a little back bone they would be able to deal with her better.

 _Like that'll ever happen._

She had decided long ago that other Pokémon would never understand her. Avoiding others was much easier than watching them avoid her when she tried to interact. She wasn't what others wanted her to be and she refused to change herself just to make other people like her. She would not fall that low.

The Steel type quickly made her way through the forest that she had claimed as her own. Others had kept away from this area, but she never knew the reason behind it. The forest was perfectly fine. Nice lush green trees and thick berry bushes and vines, making it so there was plenty of food and hiding places. Well if they wanted to abandon this place she would gladly take it.

She stopped when she finally made it to her destination. A small stream flowed calmly straight through the middle of her territory. Small Remoraid swam through it, splashing water at her on occasion. She let them with no complaints, most were just babies, taking the stream as a safe passage as it was too small for the Remoraid's bigger predators to swim through.

Gently leaning down she took a small sip. Soft footsteps caught her attention. She spun, abandoning what she was currently doing and glanced around the darkening forest. The trees created large shadows to stretch across the ground, making her paranoid, more so when she saw no one was there. Still, she didn't move, not trusting that someone wasn't hiding under one of the trees.

After some time she forced herself to relax. Turning back around, she took one final sip of water and started to make her way to the small space that she made her home. She lived in a small den that had been dug out of the ground, probably originally housing a family of Furret. She had packed the sides in with mud and stone, keeping the walls from crumbling when the chill of winter caused the dirt to become dry and brittle. It had to be redone every year, but the warmth and safety it provided made all the work worth it.

She was just about to make it into the tree line when she heard something behind her. She turned quickly, determined to see the intruder this time, but, once again, no one was there. No body stood within the stream, watching her with eyes that she swore she could feel burning through her body.

"I must be losing it," she hissed to herself, shaking her head roughly.

He watched her. Even as she turned back, going to her small dirt home. He felt no anger toward the small Beldum, nor did he feel any remorse. Truth be told, he felt nothing at all for her. He hadn't felt anything for anyone in a long time. He tilted his head, perking up his ears to listen better. The wind brought sounds from far and wide to him. The closest living being was far away. The only one close was the small Steel type that he was stalking, whom of which, seeming oblivious to what was really happening around her.

An almost cruel smile appeared on his muzzle, his sharp teeth flashing in the darkness. No, he had nothing against the little Pokémon. That did not mean she would not be one of those that had to pay for the sins of the past. He licked his lips, already tasting her blood on his teeth, and pushed through the brush in pursuit.

* * *

Despite what people might think, not all Duskull liked scaring others. Personally, Echo just wanted to mind his own business. He studied more on how to do proactive things, cooking oddly being one of his favorites, than learning the best way to frighten someone. So, as one might expect, he was not the best at sneaking around. He was less like a sneaky phantom and more like a raging Tauros.

He almost let out an irritated wail as he got caught up in some vines, _again._ Why did the annoying green things have to exist? He was pretty sure vines had no positive affect on the world.

"Yet," He thought to himself, "If any grass type knows I think that, I might lose an arm."

He'd always had trouble in forests. He was prone to getting tangled up in almost everything; may it be vines, branches, or even tall grass. Battling grass types was not his forte. Pulling himself free, he brushed stray twigs from himself with a huff. So much for sneaking around in the dark. With the amount of noise he was making he wouldn't be surprised if every Pokémon in the region could hear him.

He swiveled around, checking his surroundings carefully, admittedly worried a certain one eyed female was there and had seen his embarrassing display. She wasn't, but that didn't stop him from being paranoid. One should never doubt the power of a female. He had learned that one the hard way.

He continued through the forest, being extra careful to avoid every vine he came across. The green world around him soon retreated, opening up to a rocky Cliffside. A small stream cut through the rocks, creeping toward the cliffs edge and throwing itself over.

He was actually surprised by the sudden change. He had assumed the forest went on for miles with no change. The sudden rocky terrain was not something he was expecting to be here. He was fully tempted to go exploring, to drop everything just for a couple of hours to look around.

He shook himself. Now was not the time for that. The map he had said nothing about this rocky place, it only showed thick forest. So, he's rather lost or his map was outdated.

 _Damn._

"Hey, you!"

 _Double damn._

Echo turned to look behind him. The familiar Steel Type was glaring at him once again.

"Oh, come on now," he sighed.

She, in a very unladylike manor, let out a snort.

"Stop whining. If I remember correctly, I told you to leave."

He simply shrugged in response and attempted to look somewhat innocent. She didn't buy it, if the look she was giving him was anything to go on.

He almost didn't see it coming. It was nothing more than a shadow streaking out from under the tree coverage. He forced himself to move and push aside the female, who would probably take his head for it later.

Sharp teeth dug into his arm, sinking through skin and drawing blood. He flinched from the pain despite having seen it coming. He glared into glittering brown eyes and, with a well-aimed shadow ball, sent the attacker skittering back.

"Hey!" Zen snapped, "I don't need your help!"

Echo sighed, bringing a hand to his face and taking a deep breath, "right, cause you weren't about to be crunched on like some chew toy."

The Beldum glared and opened her mouth to begin what was most likely going to be a long winded rant. Desperate not to get caught up in that –and because he knew how to deal with things trying to kill him _way_ better than he knew how to deal with females –he turned toward their attacker.

At first glance, he was confused as to what exactly he was looking at. Half of the Linoone's face just seemed to be gone, leaving behind a gaping hole. The intact left eye stared at them. The right part of its jaw was gone, forcing it into a permanent snarl.

"The hell happened to your face?" Zen piped up.

"Oh for the love of Arceus..." Echo groaned, suddenly feeling a horribly strong urge to hit her.

The Normal Type growled, lifting itself onto its hind legs. Its front claws started to shine bright white light, becoming longer and sharper. Echo quickly prepared another shadow ball right as the other Pokémon lunged, slashing its claws directly at him. The shadow ball exploded into a plume of smoke when the sharp claws cut into it. Echo cursed sharply, not able to see a thing in the thick black smog.

The Linoone did not seem to be having the same problems. It pushed through the smoke, lunging forward again with blade like claws. The first slash caught Echo off guard, the claws ripping through his side. He shot to the side, trying to escape and regain his bearings, only to feel those same claws hit him once again. The smoke was beginning to clear, though, and he was able to see the faint outline of the Normal type. Before he could attack, the other shot forward, fangs closing in on his side.

"Oh! I know you!"

They both froze, the Linoone inches away from possibly ripping him to shreds. Zen appeared as the smoke dissipated. She closed her eye and nodded, as if agreeing with her own statement.

"Wait, what? You know him?" Echo asked, motioning to the Linoone.

"Yup," she said, nodding once again.

Echo and the Linoone looked at each other, as if both hoped the other knew the answer to their silent question. Echo shrugged, forgetting for the moment that they had been fighting just moments ago.

"Would you care to enlighten us?" He asked slowly.

She hummed, "Sure, sure."

He waited impatiently, resisting the urge to sigh loudly. She took her time in gathering her thoughts, probably to irk him. Finally, she turned to him.

"I heard," she started, "that there was a pirate Linoone and its master that died here. That's why this place is so abandoned, everyone thinks it's haunted."

"And you still came here?" Echo asked.

"I'm not afraid of no stupid ghost!" She exclaimed.

Echo gave her an incredulous look, ignoring that the Pokémon next to him was one of those so called 'Stupid Ghosts', if his lack of a face indicated anything.

"Mind giving some detail here?" He inquired.

"Hey, I just told you what I heard. That's all I got."

He groaned, he had forgotten how incredibly unhelpful the female was.

"Alright," he said, turning toward the Normal type, "your turn."

The Linoone gave him a look. Echo could just imagine what he was thinking; "I tried to kill you a second ago. I don't have to tell you shit."

 _Yeah, well, some context here would be nice. You know, so I can figure out what the hell is going on here._

"I could start making guesses if you want," Zen spoke up, "maybe he became some sort of glitter loving prostitute that got killed by a client!"

The Linoone glared, the air around him becoming colder. Echo backed away, just in case.

"Fine, you wanna know? I'll tell ya." The Linoone said, his voice rough, almost like he was an avid smoker, "I was once a pirate, as ya seem ta know, and pirates weren't much liked. My master...well, I wasn't able to help him then, I figured maybe now..."

That didn't feel right to Echo. It had to be some sort of bluff, a lie to get them to let their guard down.

"Wait, so, your master's body is around here?" Zen asked, "I know some Pokémon that love old artifacts. They could find his skeleton and take good care of it so it won't get damaged. You could watch over him that way."

"Huh?" Echo swiveled to look at her.

"Really?" The Linoone interrupted, eyes lighting up.

"Ok, wait one second," Echo said, holding up a hand in a 'Stop' motion. He floated over to the Beldum, waving his hands in front of her face to get her attention, only to be ignored. When he turned back to the Linoone, the Normal type had a smile on its muzzle.

"Great. You've made the ghost happy," he monotoned.

"Oh, stop being such a grump."

"Me?!" Echo spun around to face her. He was sure he looked like he'd lost his mind, but he didn't particularly care, "you're the one who was trying to be a crazy macho bitch earlier when I wanted to enter the forest!"

She hummed in response, "least I'm opened minded. You are stuck on stereotypes."

"You're sympathizing with a dead guy!"

"Um...my names Krone," the Linoone said quietly.

Echo held up a single finger, a silent 'one moment please', without turning to look at him.

"You know what I think," Zen mused, "I think you need some help. So! I'm gonna join you on your crusade."

Echo stared, "huh?"

"You know, or I could just follow you like some sort of weird stalker bitch."

He stood their dumbfounded, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Zen, for her part, looked insanely pleased with herself, an amused glint in her eye.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go! Bye Krone!" She called, racing off into the trees.

 _How did this happen?_

He sighed, shaking his head and giving chase.


End file.
